8. Judgement Day (Terminator 2, 1991)
Right in the middle of James Cameron's action classic sequel there is seemingly a lull in the shoot-em up while our heroes take a much needed reprieve from fighting Mercury man from the future. As they gather supplies from friends, (food, gas giant gatling guns, you know the drill) Sara Connor (a never better Linda Hamilton) takes a power nap. She imagines a playground just on the outskirts of a city full of happy children going about their day blissfully unaware of the terror about to unfold. She sees herself with her own child and tries in vain to warn them when out of the blue her worst fears are horrifically realized. The day when the machines take over has arrived, Judgement Day. Sky-net has launched nuclear warheads around the globe to annihilate its human creators. Sara in her dream bears witness to one city hit by one of these WMD's, the result is unforgettable. Acclaimed for one of the most realistic portrayals of a nuclear detonation on film, it leaves us with no doubt of Sara's resolve to change the future in the following scene. Up until that point it is a question how Sara evolved into a warrior from the mousey valley-girl in the first terminator. If that is what she sees every time she closes her eyes, we wonder how she managed to keep it all together.